Keep on Going

Kacey was struggling to settle her nerves as she packed her bag for the weekend. She was finishing throwing the last of her clothes into her bag when she heard Abby chuckle from her doorway behind her.

“Nervous?”

Kacey looked over her shoulder and shot a glare at Abby with a scoff. “You could say that.”

“Why are you so nervous? It’s just Ben,” she teased.

“Yeah, Ben and his friends. What if his friends don’t like me?”

“Please, do you honestly think he would invite you if he didn’t think you’d get along with his friends?”

“I guess not,” Kacey sighed. “Still doesn’t mean I’m not nervous though.”

“Chill, you’ll be fine. Ben will be the romantic gentleman he always has been, whisk you off your feet, and you’ll ride happily into the sunset,” Abby quipped sarcastically.

“Geez, sarcastic much?” she huffed.

“I’m just saying you have nothing to worry about. If Ben likes you as much as you claim, you’ll be fine. Chill.”

Kacey zipped up her bag and grabbed it as she slipped on her shoes. “Fine, but I’m blaming you if the weekend ends in disaster.”

Abby was about to reply but was interrupted by someone knocking on the door. “Sounds like your guy is here,” Abby smirked.

Kacey couldn’t stop the blush from rising to her cheeks as she made her way towards the front door. She opened the door to find Ben standing on the other side, fussing with his hair to make sure it laid right. When he heard the door open, he quickly put his hand down and looked up to meet her gaze.

“Hey Kacey,” he greeted with his million-dollar smile. He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips as he moved to grab her bag. “Ready to go?”

She bit back her smile, her face reddening as she nodded.

He held out his empty hand and she took it, as he interlaced his fingers into hers, and led her to his car. He popped his trunk as he placed her bag in the back. He then quickly jogged over to the passenger door to open it before Kacey could get. She giggled slightly at the gesture as she stepped into the car.

He ran around the front of the car and hopped into the driver’s seat. He turned on the car before turning to Kacey. “Alright, so it’s a couple hour drive to the lake houses. I figured I had been boring you with my choice in music so,” he leaned down to retrieve something from the door, “you get to control the music. I swear I don’t solely listen to classical, so I have normal music,” he chuckled.

Kacey grinned widely as she took the cd folder in his hand to begin flipping through his CD collection. She was slightly saddened to see his lack of Third Eye Blind, but she had to remind herself that it wasn’t Kennedy she was riding with; it was Ben. She continued to flip through and honestly didn’t recognize hardly any of the artists in there. Surely there was someone she would recognize so they could find an artist to jam to. She was beginning to give up hope that she would find an artist she recognized, much less like until she got to the end and spotted it. The smile on her face widened as she extracted the album and put it in his CD player.

The familiar bass and drum fill played through the speakers as a smile graced Ben’s face. “Ah, I see you found Abbey Road,” he chuckled.

"I figured it could be a potentially good driving album," she grinned.

"Then you'd be right my dear."

Ben then propped his right arm on the console. It wasn't necessarily an invite to hold his hand, but she couldn't resist. She turned her head to gauge what his reaction might be, but he was focused on the road ahead. She bit her lip and slowly placed her arm on the console between them. Ben moved his arm so she could have it but Kacey quickly grabbed his hand in hers and interlocked their fingers.

He turned his head towards her with a small smile which she easily returned. He pulled her hand towards his lips and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles before their hands back on the console.

Kaceys heart was racing in her chest and she felt her breathing begin to stagger. She didn't understand why she was suddenly so nervous as she'd held hands with Ben before, but something about this time felt different.

They sat in a comfortable silence with the sounds of The Fab Four emanating from the speakers. Their hands remained interlocked for the duration of the drive. Kacey was growing more excited about the weekend the longer they drove.

Time passed quickly and Ben pulled onto the road where the lake house was. The road was pretty vacant, only a couple houses along it as it wound towards the lake. He pulled into the long driveway and saw a couple cars had already pulled up. He parked the car and turned towards Kacey.

“We’re here,” he smiled.

“I’m so excited about spending this weekend with you,” she grinned as she leaned over their interlocked hands to place a kiss on his lips.

The moment she backed away he gently brought her face back to his as he gave her a more prolonged kiss. He pecked her lips once more before backing away slightly.

Her cheeks burned bright red as she attempted to bite back her sheepish smile.

“C’mon, let’s unload and bring our stuff inside.”

They got out of the car and grabbed their bags from the back. Ben moved his bag to his left hand so he could hold Kacey’s hand in his right. He swung their hands between them as he led her to the front door.

As soon as they stepped through the door, Ben yelled out, “We’re here!”

An unidentified voice yelled back, “You know where your room is.”

Ben laughed as he gave Kacey’s hand a gentle squeeze and pulled her up the stairs to the room he normally stayed in.

“So Kace, uh, there’s a lot of guys coming this weekend so we’re gonna have to share a room. I hope that’s alright. I’ll gladly sleep on the floor or I could sleep on the couch downstairs. I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything. I--”

“Ben,” Kacey laughed, “it’s fine. Please don’t sleep on the couch. You’ll be miserable all weekend.”

“Impossible. You’re here. Let’s unpack a bit and meet the guys. How’s that sound?”

She nodded with a smile before the pair set off to unpack their bags. Ben grabbed his toiletry bag out and went to set it on the dresser. He was headed towards the bed to grab one of the pillows when Kacey caught his attention.

“Hey Ben?”

“Yeah Kace?”

“Why uh, um, don’t sleep on the floor. You can just, um, you can share the bed with me,” she mumbled out.

She worried her bottom lip with her front teeth as she stared at him nervously. She didn’t want to come across as too bold, or move too quickly. But she felt comfortable with Ben. She knew he was a gentleman. He wouldn’t do anything to make her feel uncomfortable; he would respect her boundaries. That’s why she offered him the other side of the bed. Not to mention she found it ridiculous that he should have to sleep on the floor all weekend or anywhere outside of the room. They were both mature adults and she could handle this situation. Though she wouldn’t deny the thought of sharing a bed with another man scared her to death.

His brows furrowed in slight confusion, trying to absorb her words and make sure he heard them correctly.

“A-are you sure?”

“I mean, only if you’re comfortable with it,” she supplied.

“Oh, I mean, I am, I just, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable…”

“I-I’m not. I don’t want you to have to sleep on the floor when there’s a perfectly good half of the bed available for you to sleep on.”

“Right, yeah, uh thanks,” he smiled. He threw the pillow back on the bed. “Um, wanna go meet the guys?”

“Yeah let’s go,” she nodded.

He grabbed her hand and brought her to the living room where Peter, Tim, Ashley, and Andrew were standing.

With a big smile, Ben introduced her to the rest of the guys. “Guys, this is Kacey. Kacey, this is--”

“Woah wait. Kacey? As in cliff-girl Kacey?” Peter asked incredulously.

“Shit, don’t tell me my fame has preceded me,” she chuckled as she turned her head slightly to hide her blush.

“Don’t worry, we’ve heard nothing but good things,” Tim responded. “Don’t mind this idiot,” he chuckled. I’m Tim and this is my girlfriend Ashley.”

Kacey shook both of their hands before being introduced to Peter and Andrew. The six of them stood and talked for a while before Peter’s phone went off. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to check his text message.

“That was the rest of the guys. They’re on their way and should be here in a bit. We might wanna get the bonfire going so we can start cooking our meals when they get here.”

“We can do it. Wanna help me set up the bonfire?” Ben asked, turning towards Kacey.

“Sure, why not?”

“Alright, well we didn’t cut any wood or anything, so you’re gonna have to go hunt through the woods for some loose branches and shit. We’ve got the fire pit dug out and prepped. Just get enough wood for the weekend and get it lit up,” Peter said.

Ben once again grabbed up Kacey’s hand as he led her outside. The moment they reached the outdoors, he dropped her hand and opted instead to wrap his arm around her shoulders as they walked through the woods.

They walked in silence as they started gathering various sized branches to throw into the fire. “Ya know, I’m really glad you decided to come this weekend,” Ben said as he turned towards Kacey with a nervous smile.

She looked up from where she was hunched over gathering sticks and returned a warm smile. “I’m glad I came, too. The guys are great. I won’t lie, I was pretty nervous about coming this weekend.”

“Really? Why’s that?”

“I don’t know, I guess I was just worried that your friends may not like me or something.”

“That’s ridiculous Kace and you know that.”

She playfully scoffed as she brushed his shoulder with her own, her arms loaded down with sticks. “Psh, whatever,” she laughed, “but thanks.”

Ben leaned over and gave her a small peck on the cheek as they started to make their way back to drop off this load of sticks at the fire pit before continuing to gather more. They dropped off their first load and turned to get more when they heard a loud engine. They briefly turned around to see what the noise was, when Ben informed Kacey that it was just the rest of the guys so they’d better hurry and get the rest of the sticks. She nodded and followed him back into the woods.

Ken stepped out of the small car, having been cramped in there with four other guys and part of their luggage. He stood up and stretched his legs and arms, ready to get out of the car as he moved to get his bag from the trunk.

Ken was standing next to the car waiting for John, Jared, Pat, and Garrett to finish grabbing their bags from the trunk when he noticed someone in the distance heading towards the woods.

“Whatcha lookin at Ken?” Jared asked.

“Just trying to figure out who that is in the distance. I can’t quite recognize them from here. And why the hell are they going to the woods?”

Garrett clasped a hand on his shoulder. “Prolly to get wood for the fire. Duh,” he chuckled. “Let’s get inside. I’m starving.”

He nodded and followed the rest of them inside. They dropped their bags off inside the door, deciding to divvy up rooming situations later. The five of them moved to the living room to join whoever was there.

“Is this everyone?” John asked as he looked around with a puzzled look on his face.

“Uh, no. Kacey is out back getting wood for the bonfire--” Andrew supplied.

Kennedy didn’t stay around long enough to hear anything past Kacey’s name. His nerves were suddenly on edge and now he was determined to see her. His hands were getting a little shaky as he hastily made his way outside and all but ran towards the woods to find Kacey. He figured he would be a gentleman and help her gather wood. He couldn’t believe the guys left her, the newest member of the group, accident-prone Kacey, out to her own devices in the woods. He chuckled at the thought as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and made his way down the path.

He stopped short when he noticed Ben and Kacey roughly twenty yards in front of him. He quickly moved to behind one of the larger trees there so he wouldn’t be seen as he tried to listen in on what was going on.

“..So I guess what I’m saying is, I really enjoy spending time with you. I’m really interested in seeing where this goes. I’ve loved hanging out with you these past weeks and I’d love to continue seeing you exclusively. Whatdya say?”

Kennedy gulped as he stood nervously wondering what her response would be. He peeked around the tree just in time to see a wide grin spread across her face as she nodded enthusiastically. The blush he was infamous for giving her adorning her cheeks as she jumped and wrapped herself around Ben, kissing him passionately.

He felt his blood run cold as his stomach drop. He thought he was going to be sick. He clutched his stomach with one hand as he stumbled his way back towards the house where the rest of the guys were. He suddenly didn’t feel like being so sociable.

When he walked into the lake house, his goal was to head straight towards the bathroom. He needed to collect himself before attempting to join the rest of the group. He walked in to hear uproarious laughter coming from the rest of the guys. Kennedy tried to avoid them as he made a beeline past the living room.

John happened to catch Kennedy trying to sneak past and dismissed himself from the group so he could see what was wrong with Kennedy. He found Kennedy standing at the bathroom sink splashing cold water on his face.

“Hey Ken?” he tentatively asked.

Kennedy looked up at John through the mirror and rolled his eyes. He stood up and turned to grab a towel to dry his face. “What do you want John?” he muffled into the towel as he dried his face.

“Are uh, are you alright? You look like shit.”

Kennedy moved the towel from his face and shot John a glare. “Gee, thanks dude,” he replied flatly as he went to hang up the towel.

John sighed, “That’s not what I meant. What happened? You seemed all excited that Claire was here and now you’re looking like someone just ran over Koda.”

“I don’t wanna talk about it man. Just drop it,” Kennedy said as he brushed past John back towards the living room.

John let him be for the moment as Kennedy clearly didn’t want to talk about whatever was going on. He figured he would break Kennedy of whatever was bothering him soon enough. With a shrug he rejoined the rest of the group only to find Kennedy pouring a healthy dose of Jack Daniels into his cup.

John chuckled a bit, “Ya know I’m an advocate for hard core drinking, but dude, it’s barely 5 and you haven’t eaten hardly all day. Are you sure that’s the best idea?”

“I’m fine,” Kennedy replied as he started gulping back the amber liquid.

None of the other guys seemed to question it as they took it as invitation to start drinking the hard stuff.

Tim looked out the back window and said, “Hey guys, the fire’s ready. Let’s grab the dogs, drinks, and s’mores and go eat.”

They all grabbed the various dinner supplies as they made their way outside. THere was a small picnic table that served as their supply table where they dropped all the food and drinks. They grabbed stuff to start cooking their hot dogs over the fire.

Kennedy got his stuff and sat as isolated from the rest of the group, while still sitting at the fire, as he could. He didn’t make eye contact with anyone, nor did he plan to.

Kacey and Ben returned from the woods with thier last armload of sticks and Kacey was surprised to see Kennedy sitting at the fire. Her heart started beating erratically in her chest and she nearly dropped all she had in her hands. She had a boyfriend now. She couldn’t be caught up in the sight of the fickle brunette sitting at the fire. She dropped the sticks in the growing pile and went to grab a hot dog and a long stick to cook it on.

Ben had come up behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist, casually rubbing small circles into her side with his thumb as they moved to sit down at the fire.

Kacey chose a spot across the bonfire from Kennedy in hopes of catching his eye. Unfortunately it didnt’ look like he was going to shift his fixed gaze anytime soon.

John came to the bonfire and caught Kacey’s eye. His eyes then moved to Ben’s hand resting comfortably on her waist and looked at her with raised eyebrows, clearly in shock of what he was witnessing.

She bit her lip and slightly shrugged, not really sure what to tell John.

John didn’t say a word but moved to sit next to Kennedy.

They all spent most of the night cooking food and cutting up. Jared eventually brought his guitar out and strummed random songs as background noise behind the drunken conversations that were being had. Admist the alcohol, Kacey had gotten pretty cozy with Ben, as she was practically sitting in his lap as her legs draped across his and her arms wrapped loosely around him.

Kacey looked across the bonfire and saw Kennedy was missing. Panicked she looked around and saw his hunched, retreating figure headed towards the lake. She cast a worried glance towards John who only gave her a knowing glare. She sighed and attempted to sneak away from the group to talk to Kennedy. She couldn’t take the silent treatment from him anymore.

She hesitantly made her way closer to him as he stopped at the edge of the lake. She could see the tension radiating off his body as he stood with his arms crossed. His staggered breathing was easily heard from where she stood a couple feet behind him. She sighed before going to close the distance between them.

Kennedy heard footsteps behind him and without turning around scoffed, “John, I told you I didn’t want to talk about it.”

Kacey cleared her throat.

Kennedy looked over his shoulder to see Kacey standing behind him which only caused him to scoff again. He rolled his eyes as he turned his gaze back to the moon-lit lake in front of him. “Great, like you’re any better,” he said under his breath.

Kacey went from feeling bad to feeling defensive. She scrunched her face and forcefully grabbed his shoulder, gruffly turning him around to face her. “Hey now, you’ve been avoiding me all night for no reason. I came over here to see what’s wrong. I thought we were friends.”

“Friends? Psh, yeah right.”

“What has gotten into you? Just earlier this week you were banging my door down dying to spend the day with me. Now you won’t even look at me. What changed?”

“What changed? Are you kidding me?” he asked incredulously. “What happened was I found out I had been going after one of my best friend’s girl. If we’re such great friends why didn’t you have the decency to tell me things were were so serious between you and Ben? Why did you have to lead me on?”

“Me? Lead you on? Oh, that’s rich coming from the guy who’s been so fickle with his feelings for me that he’s too chicken to make a move!”

“Like hell I was! I’ve never done anything of the sort!” he defended.

“Really? That’s the answer you’re gonna stick with?” she scoffed as she crossed her arms.

“Yeah! Unless you can prove otherwise.”

“Psh, easy. The morning in my kitchen the day you took me to the cliff and the morning I woke up on your couch.”

“Please, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You’re not seriously gonna stand there and act like you have no clue what I’m talking about?”

“Looks like it because I don’t.”

“Bullshit. That’s absolute bullshit Ken and you know it. You tried to kiss me both of those days and didn’t have the balls to follow through.”

“Hey if I remember correctly it takes two people to kiss so you should be looking in the mirror when you make these accusations,” he chuckled darkly.

“My god you’re infuriating.”

“And this is why I don’t do relationships," he threw up his hands exasperated. "I don’t even know why I tried to think that things with you would be different. You’re just like the rest of them. I was starting to fall for you alright? I admit it. But then to find out that you’ve been dating one of my friends while still acting like you’re into me? Nah, I’m not putting up with that. I may not do relationships, but at least I’m committed.”

Kacey stood there fighting back tears as Kennedy continued to hurl his hurtful words at her. She could barely hold his stare because she knew he was right. She couldn’t make a decision between him and Ben. At least she thought she had and she had such high hopes for this weekend with Ben. Things were going great with him and her mind had finally been freed from Kennedy until he had to show up that weekend. Now her picture perfect weekend was going down the drain and she had no one to blame but herself.

She continued to stand there and listen to him hurl his insults at her for what a terrible person she was for being so two-faced towards him and all that was running through her mind was how she couldn’t lose him. She liked his company and how he challenged her to step out of her comfort zone. She liked how he could keep up with her teasing and wasn’t afraid to tease her back. Which is why when she heard him say that he didn’t want to see her anymore she found herself lurching towards him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and started kissing him with all she could muster.

Kennedy immediately reciprocated his feelings as he wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her body as close to his as he could. He kissed her back with all the feelings he had been holding back the last few days. He knew in that moment he kissed her back, that Kacey wasn’t like any girl he had ever met and he wondered why he ever thought otherwise. This kiss wasn’t like the other times when he’d kissed girls in the past. He didn’t have any ulterior motives other than letting her know how much he cared about her.

They both pulled away after a few minutes when they couldn’t breathe anymore. He leaned his forehead against hers as they both tried to catch their breath.

“Jesus Kace, what was that for?” he chuckled breathlessly.

She shrugged as she bit her lip and laughed a little. “Dunno, just felt like it.”

“Oh, you just felt like it huh?” he grinned as he playfully squeezed her sides.

She only groaned and buried her head in his chest. Her arms clinging tighter around his neck as she only wished to stay in this moment indefinitely. She knew that her rash actions just caused a heap of trouble for her and probably Kennedy. She had to get it out of her system. Thoughts of kissing him had plagued her mind for days since that morning in her kitchen. However, now that she knew what it felt like, she knew it didn’t compare to kissing Ben. Not by a long shot. Kissing Kennedy was far better. She clung to him even tighter than before.

After a few minutes Kennedy broke the silence. “You uh, ya know we can’t do this right?” he whispered, his head now sitting on top of hers.

She nodded against him as she curled herself more into his embrace. “That’s what makes it so hard to let go.”